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  • Review Article
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Insights into tectonic hazards since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment volume 6, pages 17–34 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

In 2004, an earthquake of moment magnitude Mw 9.1–9.3 ruptured over 1,500 km of the Sunda megathrust under the Indian Ocean, producing a devastating tsunami and resulting in 230,000 fatalities and the displacement of nearly 1.7 million people. In this Review, we explore the lessons learned since the 2004 event, including advances in understanding Sumatran subduction-zone hazards and related disaster preparedness and risk communication. The 2004 earthquake triggered a series of aftershocks, including over 6,000 Mw ≥ 4.5 earthquakes in the first 10 years, two of which were Mw 8.6 and Mw 8.4 events, that ruptured much of the remaining Sumatran subduction interface. Ruptures of the Sumatran subduction interface are often bounded by persistent barriers associated with structural features, including fracture zones and seamounts, on the subducting oceanic plate. Although the entire plate boundary zone should always be prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis, the seismic gap in the Mentawai Islands highlights the need for enhanced preparedness in this region. The lack of tsunami early warning systems in the Indian Ocean before the 2004 tsunami prompted international efforts to help coastal populations protect themselves, which remain ongoing. Future communication efforts should ensure the public understands that no warning system is perfect, and it is safest to evacuate when there is any indication of a potential tsunami.

Key points

  • The 2004 Indian Ocean rupture had the longest length (1,500–1,600 km) and duration (~10 minutes) of any such recorded event. The resulting tsunami had far-reaching global impacts, extending beyond the local communities in Indonesia and surrounding regions.

  • Earthquake ruptures of the Sumatran subduction interface following the 2004 event have occurred through stress transfer by the mainshocks or their postseismic responses, including viscoelastic relaxation, afterslip and/or poroelastic rebound.

  • Ongoing continental-scale postseismic deformation, following three MW ≥ 8 Sumatran subduction earthquakes that occurred since 2004, is caused by long-lasting mantle relaxation.

  • Slow slip events occur along the Sunda megathrust, spanning decades, indicating the need for multidecadal observations to better understand the mechanisms of such events.

  • Increased understanding of partitioning of the plate boundary deformation along the Sumatran subduction zone since 2004 has revealed the importance of distributed shearing across the Wharton Basin and the Sumatran Fault Zone.

  • Advancements in earthquake and tsunami science since 2004 have prompted improvements in early warning systems and risk communication. However, challenges persist especially at locations near the tsunami source, requiring improved risk communication and integration of local knowledge to enhance community resilience.

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Fig. 1: Sequence of large-to-great earthquakes around the Andaman and Sumatran subduction zone.
Fig. 2: Regional and global impacts of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Fig. 3: Segmentation and rupture history of the Sunda megathrust.
Fig. 4: Fatalities across the Indian Ocean caused by the 2004 earthquake and tsunami.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education under the Tier 3b project ‘Integrating Volcano and Earthquake Science and Technology (InVEST)’ (award no. MOE-MOET32021-0002 to E.M.H. and L.F.), by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore under its NRF Investigatorship Scheme (award no. NRF-NRFI05-2019-0009 to E.M.H.) and by the NRF Singapore under its Singapore NRF Fellowship scheme (award no. NRF-NRFF11-2019-0008 to A.J.M.). This is Earth Observatory of Singapore paper no. 616. The authors thank S. Wei and S. Sathiakumar for discussions, X. Zhou for providing the 17-year cumulative postseismic deformation calculated from his viscoelastic relaxation model of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, T. Sun for providing postseismic velocity vectors in the mantle for panel a in Box 2, and B. Philibosian for inputs on the rupture length of the 2000 Enggano earthquake for Fig. 3. The authors also thank Y. Y. Sim for help generating the map in Box 1. Additionally, the authors extend their gratitude to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the Gouvernment of India, Hyderabad, for providing the details of their Andaman and Nicobar GNSS Network for Fig. 1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Gina M. Sarkawi, Lujia Feng, Aron J. Meltzner & Emma M. Hill

  2. Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Gina M. Sarkawi, Lujia Feng, Aron J. Meltzner & Emma M. Hill

  3. ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Jamie W. McCaughey

  4. National Research and Innovation Agency, Jakarta, Indonesia

    Susilo Susilo

  5. Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia

    Umar Muksin & Rina Suryani Oktari

  6. Université Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, UGE, ISTerre, Grenoble, France

    Anne Socquet

  7. Sekolah Tinggi Meteorologi Klimatologi dan Geofsik, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia

    Suko Prayitno Adi

  8. Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Roland Bürgmann

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  1. Gina M. Sarkawi
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Contributions

E.M.H. conceptualized the Review. G.M.S. coordinated the process. G.M.S., L.F., J.W.M., A.J.M., A.S. and E.M.H. wrote the preliminary draft. All authors contributed to the discussions, planning, writing and reviewing of the manuscript. G.M.S., L.F. and J.W.M. developed the graphics.

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Correspondence to Gina M. Sarkawi.

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Related links

BNPB: https://bnpb.go.id/sejarah-bnpb

BPBD: https://www.bnpb.go.id/bpbd-propinsi

InaCORS: https://srgi.big.go.id/map/jkg-active

InaTEWS: https://inatews.bmkg.go.id/

INCOIS: https://incois.gov.in/portal/datainfo/datainfohome.jsp

Indonesian tide gauges: https://srgi.big.go.id/tides

MyRTKnet: https://mytransformasinet.jupem.gov.my/

National Center for Environmental Information: https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/tsu_travel_time_events.shtml

ThaiCORS: https://ncdc.in.th/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=7752b918a468499bb3c9f4aade180191

Glossary

Afterslip

Gradual, aseismic fault slip following an earthquake, which continues to release strain and generates postseismic deformation.

Asperity

A location on the fault surface that is stuck and can store elastic strain; where earthquake rupture often occurs.

Cold nose

A portion of the mantle wedge with reduced temperature that is less thermally altered than its surrounding mantle, which influences subduction-zone dynamics and seismicity.

Coulomb stress changes

Alterations in the stress on a fault, combining changes in shear stress and normal stress, which when positive increase the likelihood of fault slip and seismic activity.

Earthquake supercycle

Repeating periods of elastic strain accumulation and release, involving multiple fault ruptures.

Slow slip events

Gradual fault slip over days to years that releases strain without substantial shaking and influences the distribution of stress along tectonic boundaries.

Southeast Asian Ring of Fire

A segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity, which affects Indonesia, the Philippines and other regions.

Sunda megathrust

A major fault along the Sunda trench, where the Indo–Australian plate subducts beneath the Sunda plate.

Tsunami earthquakes

Earthquakes that produce a larger tsunami than is expected from its magnitude.

Viscoelastic relaxation

Gradual redistribution of stress and deformation in the Earth’s deep crust and upper mantle following an earthquake, driven by the viscoelastic behaviour of subsurface materials.

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Sarkawi, G.M., Feng, L., McCaughey, J.W. et al. Insights into tectonic hazards since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Nat Rev Earth Environ 6, 17–34 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00613-2

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